In a concerted effort to elevate summer youth employment from temporary work to long-term opportunity, the City of Boston’s Worker Empowerment Cabinet, in collaboration with Northeastern University and Roxbury Community College (RCC), recently hosted the Spring 2025 Learning Lab Convening. Held at RCC, the event brought together over 60 professionals, including youth employment leaders, employers, and workforce developers, to examine a crucial question: How can summer jobs be structured to guide young people toward meaningful careers?
Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) has long served as an entry point into the working world for thousands of teens. Organizers of the convening emphasized that these early jobs shouldn’t be viewed as one-off experiences. Instead, they should serve as stepping stones to careers, offering hands-on exposure to industries like healthcare, culinary arts, education, and green jobs. The event featured three key components: a research presentation by Dr. Alicia Sasser Modestino of Northeastern University, an employer panel spotlighting model programs, and a collaborative workshop for attendees to integrate best practices into their own organizations.
Employer Models Spotlight Career Readiness and Progression
The employer panel revealed a variety of successful program models, each rooted in the common goal of youth career development. Future Chefs, for instance, employs a tiered culinary structure where participants begin with foundational tasks and progress into leadership roles, complete with career coaching and personal growth sessions.
Artists For Humanity (AFH) immerses young people in creative studio environments, where they work on live client projects under professional artists’ mentorship. Regular Career Talks introduce them to AFH alumni working across various industries, helping build networks and broaden career perspectives.
Mass General Brigham, in partnership with Edward M. Kennedy High School, gives students access to five healthcare career pathways. Their model blends guest speakers, hospital tours, and summer job opportunities to connect classroom learning with real-world careers.
The Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) has redesigned its summer jobs to emphasize mentorship, soft skill development, and structured workshops on topics such as executive functioning and civic engagement. Meanwhile, Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound offers a three-year green careers track, including environmental justice education, carpentry, and internships in city parks.
Youth Employment Common Threads: Mentorship, Career Exposure, and Skill-Building
Despite their differences, all Youth Employment programs share a core set of strategies. Mentorship is foundational, with youth assigned to staff or professionals who guide them throughout the experience. These relationships are often embedded directly into the structure of the job or project environment.
Programs also provide clear pathways for progression, enabling youth to return summer after summer in more advanced roles, some even transitioning into leadership. Exposure to real careers—through site visits, alumni panels, and client work—is another unifying element that helps youth understand the practical realities of various industries.
Lastly, there is a strong focus on skill-building, both technical and professional. While some programs offer formal certifications, many emphasize project-based learning and soft skills that are Youth Employment essential in any workplace. Collectively, these efforts signal a shift in how Boston views summer jobs—not just as short-term employment, but as a launchpad for long-term career success.
